The motu has bid farewell to Tā Bom Gillies, the last surviving veteran of the 28th (Māori) Battalion.
Hundreds arrived in Ōhinemutu in recent days to mourn the loss of the great rangatira, who died at the age of 99.
Gillies’s tangihanga was officiated in the weekend by Te Arawa, with Tainui and Ngāti Kahungunu represented.
Among the crowd this morning was Ngarimu Parata of Ngāti Porou, who came to pay his respects and reflect on the gathering of people on the last day of the tangihanga.
“Ko te momo o tēnei koroua nā [e] kōrero nā koe ko te mōrehu, ko te mea whakamutunga o ngā mōrehu i hōmai i te pakanga tuarua o te ao. Kōrero nā koe mō te pāpā rā i a Hemana Waaka, ārahi mai i te tira kei runga i te marae i tēnei wā, whakaaro au mōna ka whakaaro ki tērā o ngā toki tērā o ngā rahi o Tūhoe ki a (Tā) John Tūrei tērā mōrehu o te pekanga rua tekau mā waru o te pakanga tuarua o te ao.
“He is, as you have said, a survivor, the last surviving war veteran from the Second World War. You spoke about Hemana Waaka, who led the group on the marae today. I think about him and think about that generation, those leaders of Tūhoe like (Sir) John Tūrei, a 28th battalion survivor of the Second World War."
Ngarimu said as a child, there were many survivors of World War II at home within Ngāti Porou who shared their war stories.
“Nō reira ka kite ake i ngā iwi, i te hunga ka tae mai, ka hoki ake ngā mahara ki ngā koroua, ki ngā kuia rātou i tae ake ki te mura o te ahi, i hinga ki te pae o te pakanga, ētahi i mau ki roto i ngā ringaringa o te hoari.
“Ētahi i hoki mai ki te kāinga, tērā momo āhuatanga katoa. Mōku ake i a [au e] tamariki ana, he maha ngā mōrehu o te pakanga tuarua o te ao i te kāinga nā i roto o Ngāti Porou.
“Therefore, we see the many tribes, the people who have come, and shared memories of their elders, who went to battle and lost their lives, and some who were captured by the enemy.
“Some returned home, all these kinds of experiences. For me, as a child, there were many survivors of the Second World War at home, within Ngāti Porou."
He said that throughout the country, many were mourning the loss of Gillies, and today marked the final tribute to him.
